On city’s dime, WSDOT to make improvements to patch of road

For an estimated $432,000, Auburn motorists making the transition from Peasley Canyon Road to West Valley Highway and onto State Route 18 will get a smoother, less event-filled ride.

That’s what the Auburn City Council aimed to provide on Tuesday evening by authorizing Mayor Nancy Backus to execute an agreement between the City and the Washington State Department of Transportation relating to WSDOT’s current pavement preservation project on Highway 18 from West Valley Highway east to the city limits.

Council action allows the City to enter into an agreement with WSDOT to include pavement maintenance — full depth patching as needed, grind, overlay, and signal restoration— improvements to West Valley Highway from Peasley Canyon Road to Highway 18 in WSDOT’s construction contract.

Auburn will pay for the pavement preservation on West Valley Highway from its arterial street preservation fund. Additionally, the agreement authorizes up to 10 percent in construction contingency should something unexpected come up.

City officials say enfolding the improvements within the existing WSDOT construction contract reduces the overall construction impact to the travelling public, and is more cost effective than the City producing a separate construction contract for the improvements.